I logged into my Flickr account to see the home page showcasing some stunning photos of Europe sunsets. Iceland is experiencing a volcanic eruption, with the volcanic ash spreading across the Atlantic and over the United Kingdom. The Brits have been snapping photos of the sunsets, and some are simply stunning.

Icelandic volcano eruption intensifies


REYKJAVIK (Reuters) – A volcanic eruption in Iceland, which has thrown up a 6-km (3.7 mile) high plume of ash and disrupted air traffic across northern Europe, has grown more intense, an expert said on Thursday.

The eruption under the Eyjafjallajokull glacier continued to spew large amounts of ash and smoke into the air and showed no signs of abating after 40 hours of activity, said Pall Einarsson, a geophysicist at the University of Iceland.

"The seismographs are showing that since this morning the intensity of the eruption seems to be growing," he said.

Hot fumes had melted up to a third of the glacial ice covering the crater, causing a nearby river to burst its banks, and frequent explosions on the floor of the crater sounded like bombs going off, he said.

The floods were abating, however, and some of those living in the sparsely populated area near the volcano had returned to their homes.

Another scientist said the eruption was 10 times more powerful than one which occurred last month on the flank of the volcano, though the two were part of the same event.

You can see more photos of the European sunsets at the Flickr blog here. I love photos of natural phenomenon like this. Sure, a simple snapshot of some rustic furniture is OK, but this is a rare event, makes for stunning photos!